Notification bill framed as life-saver in opioid fight

By Andy MetzgerSTATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

Wednesday

May 30, 2018 at 4:25 PMMay 30, 2018 at 4:29 PM

Securing a commitment for his son to receive substance addiction treatment was a "last chance" effort that Tom Berry made to try to save his life, but without his knowledge Berry's 20-year-old Stephen was released early and died days later of an overdose.

Plymouth District Attorney Timothy Cruz joined a bipartisan group of lawmakers and the young man's grieving family on Wednesday to call for a change in state law that would require family to be notified when someone is released from involuntary commitment.

"My family was fighting so hard for his recovery," Berry told the Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery. He said he thought his son was protected when he was committed to the Bridgewater State Drug and Rehabilitation Center.

Stephen had a court appearance to make and was given a check for $175 - the balance of what was left in his canteen - and a train ticket to Brockton, according to Cruz and Stephen's uncle, Dave Soper. Substance abuse treatment facilities often do not provide patients suffering from addiction with rides to court appearances, instead releasing them onto the street, Cruz said.

After he was released Stephen bought fentanyl, according to his father, and died on April 5, 2017. Berry lives in Pembroke and he said Stephen's mother lived in Marshfield and Plymouth.

State law allows certain individuals, including family, to petition a court to involuntarily commit someone if their alcohol or substance use presents a likelihood of serious harm.

A judge committed Stephen for 90 days of treatment but he was released after two weeks, according to Cruz. Berry said he intended to take his son to another treatment facility after his commitment ended.

As state officials seek to address the opioid epidemic, discouraging youngsters from turning to dangerous narcotics and prosecuting traffickers, families wage "more personal battles against addiction," Cruz told the committee.

"The least we can do is to show those people, who know their loved ones best, that they matter enough to notify them when their loved one is released in order to be prepared to wage their battle anew," Cruz said.

Sen. Cindy Friedman, an Arlington Democrat and co-chairwoman of the committee, asked whether the legislation would conflict with federal health care privacy laws.

Rep. Josh Cutler, a Duxbury Democrat who sponsored the bill (H 4497), said that because the notification would relate to an adjudicatory finding, the federal health privacy laws would not be invoked.

Rep. Denise Garlick, a Needham Democrat and co-chairwoman of the committee, expressed "deep sympathy" to Berry while also noting that it would be "very difficult" to pass such a bill with only two months left before the end of formal sessions.

The powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl was found in 85 percent of the Massachusetts opioid overdose deaths in 2017 where a toxicology analysis was available, and there were 2,016 confirmed and suspected overdose deaths last year, according to the Department of Public Health.

Lawmakers have supported other efforts to provide treatment to people suffering from addiction even if they do not want it. A bill (H 4470) supported by House members of the Mental Health committee would allow medical professionals to hold people with dangerous addictions for three days of involuntary addiction treatment.

After a detox, people addicted to opioids are at heightened risk of an overdose, according to medical professionals.

On Tuesday, Suffolk County Sheriff Steve Tompkins showcased a new unit in the House of Correction that provides intensive addiction recovery treatment to pre-trial detainees.

Stephen's addiction stemmed from a wrist injury from dirt-biking, according to Soper, his uncle.

"He broke his wrist and a doctor gave him a big bottle of Oxycontins," said Berry. After Stephen became addicted, drug dealers would sometimes show up at the house demanding thousands of dollars, his father said.

"He was involved and had some of the baddest people in the world after him. I didn't sleep for months," Berry told reporters.